DIRECTV worked in conjunction with Pinnacle's engineers to develop a custom application that enables DekoCast to harvest the live NFL data stream from every game simultaneously. Image Courtesy of DIRECTV.

Satellite TV provider DIRECTV has selected Pinnacle Systems’ DekoCast automatic graphics system to drive the on-air visuals for its “NFL Sunday Ticket” enhanced football telecasts. DekoCast enables the satellite service to provide automated on-screen information, including scores and stats from other games.

Pinnacle said one of DIRECTV’s challenges was to use its screen real estate in a way that would satisfy demand for up-to-the-minute detail from throughout the NFL. The companies worked together to enable DekoCast to harvest the live NFL data stream from every game simultaneously. DekoCast then turns that data into real-time updates that play out to air.

DekoCast squeezes the live video image to about 75 percent of its normal size to create space for real-time stats and red-zone alerts from other games in progress. The result is a screen full of data and graphics, not unlike the approach used by many news and financial channels.

DekoCast handles video, audio, clips and graphics in a single device. The box is a turnkey combination of real-time character generator, video and audio clip player, audio mixer and router, multichannel DVE and advanced keying engine. It can squeeze and crawl, squeeze and tease, credit sequences, and generate other combinations of re-scaled and positioned video with real-time playback of clips, graphics, and effects.

The FAA’s current rules and proposed ban on flight over people, requirement of visual line of sight and restriction on nighttime flying, effectively prohibit broadcasters from using UAS for newsgathering. ~ WMUR-TV General Manager Jeff Bartlett